What to do when you don’t feel like it.

Everyone has those days when you wake up, and everything you said you were going to do just doesn’t seem within grasp. Maybe you overslept. Maybe you've been procrastinating. Maybe you simply don't feel like it. It happens. It’s going to continue to happen. Especially when it comes to morning prayer and reading your Bible.

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He said: "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11

Later, Jesus declared: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Jesus calls us to meet with Him daily through prayer and Scripture. Why? Because He loves us. He wants to guide us, strengthen us, and help us navigate life.

The Difference a Morning with God Makes

I cannot stress the importance of starting your day off with God. It may not change everything that happens to you throughout the day, but it absolutely changes how you respond to what comes your way.

From personal research alone, I can confirm that the days I take time to pray and read God's Word before doing anything else are significantly less frustrating. The difference is honestly like night and day.

Say I wake up when my alarm goes off the first time, I successfully pull myself out of bed and into my prayer closet, I read His Word, and THEN I start my day. That is a recipe for success, truly. Those are the days when I'm more patient, more kind, and more fruitful. God has a way of slowing down the rush of the morning so you can see the bigger picture.

What is Standing in the Way?

I long for those peaceful, slow mornings, and honestly the only thing that can stand in between me and mornings like that is, you guessed it, ME. I can try to make all the excuses in the world, but at the end of the day it’s my responsibility.

What's crazy is that I know the recipe for a successful day. I know how much better I feel after spending time with God. Yet there are still mornings when I struggle to make myself do it.

So what do you do when you don't want to?

Do It Anyway

The answer isn't complicated.

Do it anyway.

We are only human, and as humans, we are robed in a thing called flesh. Flesh has a built-in carnality that will battle you to do what it wants instead of what you know you need. It fights against the things that strengthen our spirit. It wants comfort. It wants convenience. It wants the easy option.

That is why we can't trust our feelings.

The only way to win the battle is to do what you know you need to do, regardless of how you feel.

Every day we do things we don't necessarily want to do. Nobody wants to wake up early for work, but they do. Nobody wants to come home, cook dinner, and clean the house after a long day, but they do.

Why?

Because those things are our responsibilities.

Prayer and Bible reading are our responsibilities too, yet they're often the first things pushed aside. We tell ourselves we'll get to them later, after we've taken care of everything else.

But somehow, "later" doesn't always come.

Mary, Martha, & What Matters Most

As I was writing this, the story of Mary and Martha came to mind.

When Jesus visited their home, Mary sat at His feet and listened to His words. Meanwhile, Martha busied herself with serving guests and handling household responsibilities. Eventually, Martha became frustrated and asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her.

Jesus responded:

"But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

Jesus understood that serving, cleaning, and managing a household are necessary parts of life, but He also knew something Martha had forgotten: if we're constantly consumed with the demands of this world, we'll miss what He wants to say to us.

His Word.

His Spirit.

His will.

Those things matter more than any task on our to-do list.

Who's in Charge?

If you want to spend more time with God but your flesh says otherwise, don't listen. Tell your flesh it doesn't get a vote. You won't get very far spiritually if your flesh is always in control. Instead, bring it into submission through spiritual disciplines. Pray. Fast. Read God's Word. That's the best advice I could ever give you.

Not because it's easy.

Because it works.

This Week's Challenge

The truth is, we've all been Martha at one point or another.

We've all allowed the urgent things in life to crowd out the important things. So this week, I want to challenge you:

For the next seven days, wake up a little earlier. Pray. Read God's Word. Spend time with Him before you do anything else.

I believe you'll discover what so many others have discovered: the presence of God changes everything.

And who knows?

What starts as a seven-day challenge may just become a lifelong habit.

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What about you? Do you struggle with morning prayer, or has it become part of your daily routine? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

XOXO, 

Kelcie Lynn